'It's Meant to Be an Escape': Exploring Player Attitudes and Expectations Towards Video Game Privacy

As video games become increasingly data-driven, research on video game privacy has largely focused on potential risks, with little exploration of the privacy attitudes of players. To address this gap, we conducted a questionnaire with 609 participants to explore player attitudes toward privacy in gaming. Our findings reveal that while players often engage in poor privacy practices, they value privacy and face challenges with privacy controls. Participants expressed clear expectations for better privacy management in games such as the ability to customise consent to data sharing. Based on our study, we propose recommendations that game designers and game companies can use to develop more user-friendly and effective privacy features. Policymakers can leverage these insights to inform regulations that better protect players. For players, the study raises awareness of privacy issues and advocates for improved tools to manage their data. These contributions highlight the need for a player-centred approach to privacy in video games.